Things are really bad. Everywhere. So please take the time to do something that brings you joy today! For us, it’s blocking everything Camila Cabello and Cinderella on Twitter <3 We hope that you can find something that brings you that much inner peace. Perhaps this week’s newsletter can help?

This week, Daysia talks Lil Nas X’s latest announcement and Hannah talks about how Free Guy takes jabs at the film industry.

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Daysia and Hannah

This Week's Fixations

What's taking up our brain space this week?

Daysia: Lil Nas X’s bundle of joy is coming!

I am absolutely obsessed with his PEOPLE EXCLUSIVE paternity photos, and I’m equally delighted that People went along with it. Lil Nas X’s photos now live alongside precious moments such as Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra’s wedding and the birth of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt. It goes without saying, but Lil Nas X is a marketing genius. End of story!

As much of a social media expert as Lil Nas X is, I can’t even imagine how difficult it is to field hate tweets all day. He makes incredible art that really, really riles up the homophobes on Twitter. He responds to a lot of their comments—he always has a great comeback—but I can’t imagine that’s very good for one’s sanity!

Luckily, he’s got some boundaries:

Anyways, stream MONTERO due September 17 <3

Hannah: Speaking of companies that are seeing the payoff of being the butt of the joke, I can’t stop thinking about Free Guy. I was exposed to the trailer for this movie for a year and a half and did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. It’s very clever in that it makes fun of IP and conglomerates in a way that makes you simultaneously laugh and cry as you realize why they were able to do all those fun things (no spoilers!) at the end of the movie.

From the trailer which blatantly calls out Disney for their remakes, you know what you’re getting into. It’s funny because the film was distributed by 20th Century Studios, which is now a subsidiary of Disney! “We realized that Disney was willing to be in on the joke in order to avoid being the butt of the joke,” said director Shawn Levy in an interview with IndieWire.

At some points, the message is less tongue-in-cheek and more Miley in her Bangerz era but it is effective. All familiar territory for Ryan Reynolds who has built a reputation on meta jokes and sarcasm.

But a large part of what makes Free Guy refreshing is although it does follow the beats of typical action blockbusters, these are original characters who we are not familiar with and get to discover as the film progresses. Jodie Comer is wonderful and balances out the exuberance of Ryan Reynolds’ character, Guy. It’s a heartwarming story and the greatest soundtrack ever (just Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” over and over again).

Alas, all good things must come to an end because Ryan Reynolds has confirmed that Disney is interested in making a sequel for Free Guy. Why can’t we have nice things?!

Has Lorde Dropped a New Album?

Solar Power became Lorde’s third #1 on Billboard’s Alternative Albums chart. It also debuted at #5 on the Top 200. We love that for her!

Also, if you’re thinking about getting the music box on her merch site, Daysia totally recommends it. The bonus tracks and content is so great! Reviews and peeks for those are coming in the next few weeks.

Today’s mini-reviews include “Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen it All)” and “The Man with the Axe.”

“Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen it All)”: Lorde isn’t reinventing the speaking-to-my-younger-self song, but it feels like an apt reassessment of the characters, the versions of herself, that she introduced to us in her previous albums. Like other tracks on Solar Power, “Secrets” deals with the past, loss, and learning. Lorde said that she took two chords from “Ribs” and reversed them in “Secrets.” She was listening to “Ribs” and thinking about how she felt as a teen. It is a breezy, lowkey, nostalgic track that is great to cry to if you too mourn/celebrate the passage of time. And the Robyn feature is kind of soothing, despite being a sort of commentary on the sorrows of growing up.

“The Man with the Axe”: This song is definitely one that caught my attention when I was first listening to the album. It has all the weird, unexpected moments that make it stand out. Quite a feat since it’s nestled in between “Secrets” (the nostalgia!!) and “Dominoes” (another love/breakup track). Each verse is a really well-packaged story—flash fiction moments of this relationship that arc from beginning to end. Standout lines are “I thought I was a genius, but now I'm twenty-two” (will this supersede fellow pop icon Taylor Swift’s lyrics for everyone looking for an Instagram caption to commemorate their 22nd birthday??) and “But you with your doll's lashes, your infinite T-shirts / I should've known when your favourite record was the same as my father's / You'd take me down” (giving all the Kyle Scheible vibes, ifykyk). Highly recommend “The Man with the Axe” if you’re going through a breakup or just want to mourn a past relationship.

ICYMI: CHROMATICA REMIX ALBUM BITCHES!!!!! STACKED with icons. AND Charli XCX dropped “Good Ones.” New Charli era incoming! RIP hyperpop.

Too Many Tabs

Jaboukie Young-White talks about socializing online, internet etiquette, and pulling a “reverse Chalamet” in Dating & New York with the New Yorker’s Andrew Marantz.

David Sims bemoans the messy, girlboss version of Cinderella in The Atlantic.

Hunter Harris spent two weeks in Italy with the cast of Succession and gave us the inside scoop on season 3 for Vulture.

Plus… Rachael Leigh Cook’s new era, Yahya is booked and busy, the Black Film Archive is preserving Black film history, the unexpected cast of Only Murders in the Building, ABBA reunion!!!, and Donda’s misogyny.